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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · mate · chest · bound · lean · arm · hand · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chip — to eat
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — thin
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. last — final
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — finally
  21. chip — for betting
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. lean — to bend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com